STA 3032 Homework Assignment 1
Instructor: Binul, Class: 12060
1. A sample of 5 animals of a particular species is selected at random from the population
being managed in a wildlife refuge. If 5% of the population have a particular trait,
what is the probability that none of the 5 tested have the trait?
2. Among male birds of a certain species, 20% have a particular gene. Among females of
this species, 10% have the gene. Suppose the males comprise 40% of all the birds of
the species, and so females comprise 60%.
(a) What is the probability a randomly selected bird of this species has the gene?
(b) What is the probability that a selected bird is male given it has the gene?
3. Suppose A and B are independent events. Show that Ac and B c are independent as
well.
4. Suppose weekly CPU time X used by an accounting firm has probability density func-
tion, measured in hours, given by
f (x) = Cx2 (4 − x), 0 ≤ x ≤ 4.
(a) Determine the value of C so that f is a valid pdf.
(b) Find E(X).
(c) Find Var(X).
(d) Find the probability that the weekly CPU time is greater than 1 hour and less
than 3 hours.
5. (a) A fair six-sided die is rolled twice. What is the probability the first roll is higher
than the second?
(b) Two numbers between 1 and n are chosen uniformly at random. What is the
probability the first is larger than the second?
6. Vin Diesel writes down nineteen 1’s in a row and randomly writes + or − between
each pair of consecutive 1’s.
One such example is:
1 + 1 + 1 − 1 − 1 + 1 − 1 + 1 − 1 + 1 − 1 − 1 − 1 + 1 + 1 − 1 + 1 − 1 + 1.
What is the probability that the value of the expression Diesel wrote down is 9?
1
7. Binul is trying to create a unique number plate for each of the students in STA 3032.
Each plate contains a sequence of five characters chosen from the five letters in BINUL
and the four digits in 2009.
The restriction is that no character may appear in a sequence more times than it
appears among the five letters in BINUL or the four digits in 2009.
A set of plates in which each possible sequence appears exactly once contains M license
plates. Find M .
8. For events A and B, Bonferroni’s inequality states
P (A ∩ B) ≥ P (A) + P (B) − 1.
Explain why this is true. (Try to prove this result)
9. In the transmission of coded messages, errors are sometimes inevitable. Consider Morse
code, in which the fundamental symbols are dots and dashes. These occur with relative
frequencies
3 4
P (dot sent) = , P (dash sent) = .
7 7
Suppose the communication channel is subject to interference: with probability 18 , a
dot is corrupted and received as a dash, and likewise, a dash is corrupted and received
as a dot.
If the received symbol is a dot, can we be certain that a dot was originally transmitted?
Calculate the probability.
10. My bike lock has five positions, each of which can display any integer between 0 and 9.
When I got my lock, I had to pick a 5-digit code to unlock it. How many ways could
I choose my code if:
(a) I have no restrictions on my combination?
(b) Every number must be different?
(c) Some number occurs at least twice?
11. Gary and his wife have two children. At least one of them is a boy. What is the
probability that both children are boys?
12. The probability that a doctor correctly diagnoses a particular illness is 0.7. Given that
the doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis, the probability that the patient files a lawsuit
is 0.9. What is the probability that the doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis and the
patient sues?
13. The probability that an automobile being filled with gasoline also needs an oil change
is 0.25; the probability that it needs a new oil filter is 0.40; and the probability that
both the oil and the filter need changing is 0.14.
(a) If the oil has to be changed, what is the probability that a new oil filter is needed?
2
(b) If a new oil filter is needed, what is the probability that the oil has to be changed?
14. A producer of a certain type of electronic component ships to suppliers in lots of twenty.
Suppose that 60% of all such lots contain no defective components, 30% contain one
defective component, and 10% contain two defective components. A lot is picked, two
components from the lot are randomly selected and tested, and neither is defective.
(a) What is the probability that zero defective components exist in the lot?
(b) What is the probability that one defective exists in the lot?
(c) What is the probability that two defectives exist in the lot?
15. An industrial plant is conducting a study to determine how quickly injured workers
are back on the job following injury. Records show that 10% of all injured workers are
admitted to the hospital for treatment and 15% are back on the job the next day. In
addition, studies show that 2% are both admitted for hospital treatment and back on
the job the next day.
If a worker is injured, what is the probability that the worker will either be admitted
to a hospital or be back on the job the next day or both?